Tripod
The Tripod is a large three-legged Necromorph form.[http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gametrailers-tv/95?ch=1&sd=1_hd GameTrailers: E3 All Access] The front two legs appear to have been arms (possibly made from several different humans) and its leg seems to have been formed from the host's original legs; twisted into a tail-like form, much like the Leaper (except that in this instance it is actually another leg, not a tail). Tripods are extremely violent, even by Necromorph standards. They attack Isaac with little to no regard of their health. The first Tripod tries to reach and kill Isaac even when both its arms are severed. There are two types of Tripods: male and female. They both have a similar body structure, including a bladed tongue, but there are several differences. Males are the more common type of Tripod Isaac will encounter throughout the game. It appears slim and is grotesquely formed by human bodies. It attacks by swinging its arm in a wide arc, slamming its fist into the ground, flailing around its bladed tongue, or by pouncing on its victim from a distance. Its only weakpoints are two yellow pustules; one for each arm. After both arms are dismembered, it will finally die. Females, on the other hand, are the rarest Tripod Isaac will encounter, so much so that he only encounters one throughout the entire game. Unlike Males, these appear to have smooth, pale skin, as well as other female characteristics, including long hair, petite facial features, and signs of pregnancy. A Female Tripod is encountered by Isaac in the Church of Unitology . The Church Tripod first pounces on Isaac from above, knocking him to the ground. It then grabs and drags him across the floor, attempting to hit him with its bladed tongue. The tongue acts similarly to a Drag Tentacle, except with a yellow sack made from an infant as a weak point. Once Isaac shoots the sack enough times, it will explode, rendering the bladed tongue no longer effective, and the female Tripod will release him and retreat. Isaac encounters his first Tripod after he gets through his first vacuum-exposed section of the Sprawl. Strategy *Always stay on the move. Due to its long arms, a Tripod can easily catch up to you if you stand still. Even if you are on the other side of the room, a Tripod will close the distance in seconds, usually hurting you in the process. *Stasis is crucial! A stasised Tripod is an easy target for any of your weapons. With enough firepower, you should be able to dismember one of its arms after 1-2 stasis shots. *If you don't have stasis, weapons like the Line Gun, Flamethrower, and Pulse Rifle, due to their wide range and/or rapid fire capabilities, can make dismembering an un-stasised Tripod easier. *Conversely, unless you're a good shot, weapons like the Plasma cutter , Seeker Rifle, Contact Beam, and any other precison weapons are NOT recommended for fighting an un-stasised Tripod. Since the weakpoints are on its arms, they're always moving, making lining up a shot difficult. *In the elevator sequence when the Tripods surround it and try to grab Isaac through the windows in chapter 7, dismembering a Tripods arm will instantly kill it. However, it is much easier to kill a tripod with one shot from an unupgraded Detonator on the easier difficulties, as well as use the Pulse Rifles Alt-Fire and the Contact Beam on their chest area, and they will let go *In the Tripods nest, where you last encounter the Tripods, using the explosive canisters to stun it and do damage is quite helpful in disptaching a Tripod. However, you don't have to kill any Tripods during this sequence, as a live Tripod will die seconds after you blow up the second Tank. *When you dismember one of its arms, it starts using its tongue for attacking Isaac. If you stasis it right, you can kill the infant that comes out (being a small, yellow ball). It helps do extreme damage to the Tripod, and it is easier to kill when hitting the second arm. However, it is impossible to hit it when unstasised unless using a Flamethrower or a Pulse Rifle *If you stasis a Tripod and have the Ripper, stasis it aim at the head and it will dismember its tongue inside of him (if you see blood splattering its OK) giving you a ammo conservation due that you will only need to dismember its arm before its dead. (it will take 2 dismemberents) Death Scenes thumb|right|300px|The Tripod Full Death Scene at the Church of Unitology *In the Church of Unitology, if Isaac doesn't shoot the sack enough times, the Tripod brings its blade down on Isaac's right arm, severing it. It then proceeds to lift him up, slam him into the wall, then into the floor, knocking his helmet off. While it holds him down, it raises its scythe and rams it down Isaac's throat. It pulls the scythe back out, severing Isaac's head. As his body twitches, then lies still, the creature's arm suddenly comes down on his abdomen and rips his body in half. This also happens with male tripod. thumb|300px|right|Solar Array Elevator Ride Death Scene *If Isaac is killed during the elevator ride to the Solar Arrays, one of the Tripods will stab Isaac in the stomach with its tongue-blade. As Isaac screams, the blade then cuts off his right arm, also knocking off his helmet. With Isaac still standing, the Tripod then cuts off Isaac's other arm. As Isaac screams in pain, the Tripod grabs him with its third foot and throws him out the window. The camera then zooms in on its disfigured face. Trivia *The Female Tripod encountered in the Church of Unitology is unique compared to the other Tripods as its skin is more pale and not coated in blood. It also has feminine characteristics, such as a female face, breasts, and long brown hair. *The Tripods, when fighting Isaac, tend to come in packs. The areas where this occurs are somewhat predictable as they are usually large and circular. *Something interesting to note is that the Tripod has some similarities to the concept art of the Leaper. *The Tripod has been said to have a nest, as seen in one of the Dead Space 2 Achievements/Trophies, "Hornet's Nest." It is destroyed in an explosion near the end of Chapter 9.http://www.easyxbox360achievements.com/latest-news/1141-dead-space-2-achievements *If you shoot the Female Tripod's weak spot with the Javelin Gun or Hand Cannon , it will release you instantly. If you do this before it drags Isaac for the first time, the Pack will not attack. However, taking just a couple steps forward will trigger the fight. *Strangely, the Flamethrower is incredibly powerful against Tripods even on Hardcore mode without upgrades; being able to dismember their arms incredibly fast. *Male Tripods have many characteristics shared with Brutes: They are both large, charging necromorphs, they are both made out of multiple bodies, (However, the Tripod seems to make better used of its bodies, forming limbs out of entire bodies instead of mashing bodies together to form a new mass as the Brute does) and they both can be considered mini-bosses in both Dead Space and Dead Space 2. *The female Tripod, unlike males, which you encounter several times, is never seen again after it retreats in the Church to a nest. *Despite the term, a male Tripods consists of both male and female corpses. *The male Tripod is made up of 6 bodies, male bodies for the the arms, leg, and head/back, an infant without a clarified gender for the tongue blade and a female body for the stomach. *A kinesis impalement with a Slasher blade can dismember any apendage that is hit, making it a less difficult kill. *After you kill the first Tripod if you shoot it or walk too close it will thrash around a bit and do slight damage, but it will die shortly afterwards either way. *A female Tripod would appear to be stronger then a male, having no dismemberable arms. *Excluding the tongue, the female is only made out of one body however its arms are made from different bodies. *It is NOT nessesary to shoot the female tongue to make her realese you. If you are playing on easy or normal and have the Handcannon, about thirty shots to the body will make her let go. Gallery File:Tripod_male.jpg|"Male" tripod File:Dead_space_2_Strange_Necromorph_2.jpg|The child-like sack that is the Tripod's weakness. tripod.jpg|The Tripod in the downloadable wallpaper from the official website. E109.png|The Tripod rams it's scythe into Isaac's mouth. tripod.png|Launch Trailer Tripod. Dead space 2 gameplay-1.jpg|Isaac being dragged by a female Tripod. Sources